


The Snow Globe

by HollywoodCassieCage



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fluff and Angst, inspired by a call with jaehee in the christmas route, it's a reference to another fic i wrote but beyond that the two aren't related at all no worries, mc has a name in this and also they have a pet bird
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-23
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-04-04 04:31:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14012247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HollywoodCassieCage/pseuds/HollywoodCassieCage
Summary: After three years, Jaehee returns to her aunt and uncle's house to get something she'd forgotten there





	The Snow Globe

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by a call you can get with Jaehee in the Christmas dlc. It's really cute and I don't know why no one ever talks about it, but I wanted to write something about it. Hope you enjoy!

She never thought she would come back here.

As Jaehee stood outside her aunt and uncle’s house, gathering her courage to walk up to the front door, all she could think about was how strange it was to be back. The day she had moved out, she had been certain that she would not be back for any reason, and she had not returned in the three years since she left. She had not even kept in touch with her aunt and uncle, really. Her uncle usually called her on her birthday as well as most holidays, but they were always short conversations. Aside from that, her aunt and uncle were no longer a part of her life, and she was no longer a part of theirs. Which was what they had wanted. 

“Jaehee?” Seunghee’s voice was soft and full of concern. “Do you want to do this? We can come back another day. Or I can try and go in myself, or –”

“No,” Jaehee said, shaking her head. “We’re here now, so we might as well do it today. I’m afraid if I leave now I won’t try to come back. And I don’t think it’s right for you to go in alone.”

“I wouldn’t mind,” Seunghee said. 

“I would mind.”

“All right. Are you ready, then?”

“Yes, I’m ready,” Jaehee said. “Sorry, I don’t know why I’m so nervous.”

“It’s natural that you’d be nervous.”

Seunghee took Jaehee’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Jaehee started to walk up the path to the front door, Seunghee walking alongside her. When they reached the door, Jaehee hesitated for a second. She took a deep breath and then knocked on the door.

Her heart pounded as she waited for someone to answer. She reminded herself that she wouldn’t be here for long. She was only coming to get her snow globe back.

A few weeks ago, she had told Seunghee about the snow globe her father had gotten for her as a child. It was one of Jaehee’s strongest childhood memories, she could so clearly remember taking the snow globe from her father, shaking it over and over again to watch the flakes swirling around inside it. It had been so beautiful to her as a child, she had been mesmerized. She also remembered that the globe was rather large and heavy for a child. She remembered dropping it, and crying when she realized she had cracked such a lovely object. She remembered her parents trying to console her, and finally managing to calm her down only when they showed her how they could fix it. They couldn’t fix the crack in the globe, but they put a gold, decorative bow on top of it to hide the crack from view.

The snow globe had remained one of her favorite possessions throughout her life, and after her parents had died it was one of the few things that Jaehee had to remember them by. She had been heartbroken when she moved out of her aunt and uncle’s house only to realize she had left it behind. She had packed and moved in such a hurry, but even so she couldn’t believe she had forgotten the snow globe. She hadn’t wanted to go back for it, though. She had not wanted to set foot in her aunt and uncle’s house again, nor did she want to call them and ask them about it.

When Seunghee heard the story, she had suggested that they go back and get the snow globe. At first Jaehee had rejected this idea, but the more she thought of it, the more she wondered if they should. Jaehee had become braver since she had met Seunghee, so perhaps facing her aunt and uncle again did not have to be such a scary idea anymore. Besides, Seunghee was right beside her. Jaehee could do anything as long as that was true.

Jaehee was about to knock on the door again when it suddenly opened. Her aunt stood in the doorway, looking very much like Jaehee remembered her. Same haircut, same clothing style, same cold and distant expression in her eyes as they lingered on Jaehee. Even as her aunt’s eyes widened in recognition, they didn’t get any warmer. 

It occurred to Jaehee that she too must look much like she had when she had moved out. Her aunt had never seen Jaehee with her hair cut short, or with her glasses and business suit on. Jaehee had let her hair grow out so it was about the same length it had been when she had lived with her aunt and uncle. She supposed her clothing might be the only indication that things were different now. She had dressed rather drably when she had lived here. It was strange to think that there were so few physical differences in both Jaehee and her aunt, so little that appeared to have changed since Jaehee had left. But Jaehee knew that she had changed a lot since her days living here, whether or not her aunt could see it. She wondered, had things changed here too?

“Hello, Aunt Ae-ri,” Jaehee said.

Ae-ri answered after a short pause. “Jaehee. I’m surprised to see you here. Your uncle isn’t home, I’m afraid.”

“That’s all right,” Jaehee said. “I’m not really here to see him.”

Ae-ri’s gaze travelled to Seunghee.

“Oh, that’s Seunghee. She’s my business partner,” Jaehee said. She realized she was still holding Seunghee’s hand. “She’s, um, also my girlfriend.” She blushed as she said it, and Seunghee gave her hand another squeeze. She hadn’t exactly been planning on coming out to her aunt today, but Jaehee supposed it didn’t matter. They would only be here for a few minutes. “Would it be okay if we came in? We won’t be long, I just wanted to get something.”

If Ae-ri was surprised by Jaehee having a girlfriend, she wasn’t showing it. She did look irritable when Jaehee asked if they could come inside, however. Jaehee was almost afraid that Ae-ri was going to turn them away, but then Ae-ri rolled her eyes and said, “Fine, come in. I just made some tea, there should be enough for both of you.”

Jaehee and Seunghee followed Ae-ri inside and to the kitchen. Jaehee looked around her, trying to determine how she felt being back here. It wasn’t as painful as she had once imagined it would be, but it was awkward and unpleasant. Jaehee was sure her aunt was feeling the same awkwardness as she poured them all cups of tea. They sat around the kitchen table and for a moment Jaehee just stared into her cup.

For a long time, Jaehee would tell herself that she shouldn’t complain about her situation. Even if she was unhappy, there would always be people who had it much worse than her. All Jaehee needed to do was survive, happiness didn’t matter. Seunghee had helped Jaehee realize that that wasn’t true. Part of allowing herself to chase happiness meant acknowledging that she had been so unhappy in the first place. After all, there was a reason why Jaehee always pushed herself so hard, why she was so desperate to find a job and become financially stable. There was a reason why she had never planned on coming back to her aunt and uncle’s house.

This place had never felt like home to Jaehee. No one had ever tried to make it feel that way to her. She was always well aware that Ae-ri saw her as a burden. Ae-ri had never made that a secret. She never treated Jaehee like family. She was always cold and critical, and on more than one occasion Jaehee had overheard her talking to her uncle, saying how much she hated having to take responsibility for Jaehee, how she couldn’t understand why Jaehee couldn’t just be on her own. Her uncle was more sympathetic to Jaehee, but he never really stopped Ae-ri from treating Jaehee so badly. He was never particularly vocal in Jaehee’s defense.

So, Jaehee had learned to keep to herself. She didn’t speak much to her aunt or uncle or even to her cousin while she stayed here. She kept out of their way as much as she could and focused on her school work. All she cared about was doing well in school, so that she could get a good job as fast as possible. Even her decision to go to college had caused conflict with her aunt, who wanted Jaehee to get a job right out of high school. She just wanted Jaehee out of the house as fast as possible. She was likely feeling the same way now that Jaehee had come to visit again. 

Ae-ri was the first to break the silence. “So, Seunghee, was it? Jaehee said that you’re her business partner. Do you work at C&R too?”

Jaehee cleared her throat and looked up from her tea. “I don’t work at C&R anymore, actually. I left that job to start my own coffee shop.” Her aunt didn’t need to know the details of how she had left her assistant job.

Ae-ri raised her eyebrows. “A coffee shop? That sounds risky.” She took a sip of her tea and then added under her breath, “You never did know your place.”

Jaehee felt her face heat up. She placed her hands around her tea cup, trying to stop them from shaking.

“I think the decision Jaehee made was really brave,” Seunghee said. Jaehee glanced at her and found that Seunghee was glaring at Ae-ri. “The coffee shop is doing amazing, and Jaehee is great at running it. I think she’s exactly in the place she should be.”

Seunghee was overselling it, Jaehee thought. The coffee shop was doing well enough, but it certainly wasn’t amazing. Still, she felt grateful to Seunghee for standing up for her. 

Ae-ri ignored what Seunghee said and turned back to Jaehee. “What brings you here, Jaehee? You’ve never visited before.”

_Because I knew I wasn’t welcome._ “There are a few things I left in my room, and I wondered if I could have them back.”

“You left those three years ago, and you’re only coming back now?”

“Yes,” Jaehee said. “So, if you don’t mind, I can just take them and get out your way.” She didn’t want to spend much more time in this house.

Ae-ri took another sip of her tea before answering. “Your things aren’t here.”

“What do you mean?”

“I cleaned out your room a few weeks after you left,” Ae-ri said. “I figured that the things you left behind weren’t things you needed, if you couldn’t remember to bring them with you.”

“So then – my things –”

Ae-ri shrugged. “I threw them away.”

Jaehee’s mouth went dry. “You threw them away? You threw away – everything?”

“There were only a few things,” Ae-ri said.

“Was one them a snow globe?” Jaehee asked. She almost didn’t want to hear Ae-ri’s answer.

“I think I remember seeing a snow globe, yes,” Ae-ri said.

Jaehee closed her eyes. Her snow globe wasn’t here. She had finally come back for it, and it wasn’t even here. It had been thrown away.

“Why didn’t you tell Jaehee you were cleaning out her room?” Seunghee asked.

Jaehee opened her eyes. Seunghee’s hand was clenched into a fist on the table, and her eyes were flashing dangerously. 

“If Jaehee left It behind, I didn’t think she would care,” Ae-ri said. “She shouldn’t have forgotten her things, or she should have come back earlier.”

“You could have called her!” Seunghee said. Her voice was rising in volume. “You could have told her that she had left some things, or brought them to her. You could have at least asked her if she still wanted them!”

“Jaehee’s things aren’t my responsibility,” Ae-ri said, narrowing her eyes at Seunghee. “It’s her own fault for leaving them. How was I supposed to know she would want them back?”

“If you had just asked her first, you could have known –”

Jaehee suddenly stood. “We’re sorry to have taken up so much of your time, Aunt Ae-ri. We’ll get going now.”

Seunghee and Ae-ri both turned to Jaehee in surprise. Jaehee gave Seunghee a pleading look and Seunghee nodded and stood.

“Do you want me to tell your uncle you were here?” Ae-ri asked, standing as well.

Jaehee shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. Thank you for the tea.” Though neither she nor Seunghee had had a single sip of their tea. 

Ae-ri showed them to the door and Jaehee left in a hurry. Seunghee didn’t say anything else to Ae-ri as they left, but Jaehee could tell that she still wanted to argue. She was only holding back for Jaehee’s sake.

When they had walked far enough that her aunt and uncle’s house was no longer in sight, Jaehee finally stopped to catch her breath. She hadn’t realized just how difficult it had been to breathe in that house until she was outside it again. 

“Are you okay?” Seunghee asked, putting a hand on Jaehee’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry about how that went.”

“It’s fine,” Jaehee said numbly.

“You told me what your aunt and uncle were like but that was even worse than I imagined,” Seunghee said. Her voice was rising in agitation again. “The way she talks to you – I couldn’t stand it! I was so ready to fight her, but –”

“I know you were,” Jaehee said. “Thank you, Seunghee, but it’s really fine.”

“It’s not fine!” Seunghee sighed. “I’m sorry, you don’t need this right now. I’m just – I’m just mad.”

“I know, and I’m grateful, but it really doesn’t matter, Seunghee. I never have to go back there again.”

“I’m sorry about your snow globe,” Seunghee said softly. “Are you okay, Jaehee?”

No, she wasn’t okay. She felt worse now than she had when she had realized she had forgotten the snow globe all those years ago. At least then she could imagine that it was still safe in her room, perhaps waiting for her to come back for it one day. Now it was really gone. The beautiful snow globe, with its family of three snow men inside it… it was really gone….

Her eyes welled with tears, and she wiped at them quickly. 

“Oh – Jaehee.” Seunghee wrapped her arms around Jaehee, and Jaehee returned her hug gratefully.

“I feel stupid for crying over a snow globe,” Jaehee said, her voice a bit muffled against Seunghee’s shoulder. It was like Jaehee was a little girl again, inconsolable because she had broken her parents’ gift to her.

“It’s not stupid,” Seunghee said.

“I shouldn’t have forgotten it there. Why did I forget it there?”

“No, they should have contacted you before throwing your stuff away.”

Jaehee pulled away from Seunghee, wiping her eyes again. There was no use trying to hide how much she was crying now. “There’s nothing to be done about it now. Let’s just go home.”

Seunghee nodded and took Jaehee’s hand. As they walked home, Jaehee tried to put the snow globe out of her mind. She hadn’t even thought about the snow globe that much before she told the story to Seunghee, it shouldn’t be that hard to live without. She had lived without it for three years and barely noticed. But it felt different now, because she had gotten her hopes up to get it back, and because she knew with certainty that she never would.

*

A week later, Jaehee had almost managed to forget about the snow globe entirely again. Almost. Sometimes she would think about it, and her heart would constrict painfully, but she kept telling herself there was nothing to be done about it. The snow globe was gone now, and that was that.

It was a Sunday, so the café was closed. Jaehee had been home alone for a few hours now. They were low on bird food for Canephora, so Seunghee had offered to go and buy some. It shouldn’t have been taking her this long, though. Jaehee was just thinking about calling her, to see if something was keeping her, when she suddenly walked through the door.

“You took your time,” Jaehee said. 

“I know, sorry,” Seunghee said. “But I have a good reason why it took me so long.”

“Here, let me take that.” She took the heavy bag of bird food from Seunghee, but she stopped when she noticed another bag in Seunghee’s hands. “Oh. Is that what took you so long? What is that?”

Seunghee opened the bag and held up the object for Jaehee to see. Jaehee dropped the bag of bird food to the floor.

Seunghee smiled. “If I let you hold it, you can’t drop it.”

Seunghee was holding a snow globe. For a moment Jaehee had thought it was the one her parents had given her, somehow, but closer inspection showed her that wasn’t the case. It was quite large, like the one her parents had given her, and it had a red base, but that was where the resemblance ended. The inside of this snow globe had birch trees, and three red cardinals sitting in their branches.

“I felt bad about what happened to your other snow globe,” Seunghee said. She sounded a bit nervous. “I was the one who pushed you to go to your aunt and uncle’s to get it, so I felt kind of responsible –”

“That’s silly,” Jaehee said. “What happened wasn’t your fault.”

“I know, but I still felt bad. So I wanted to get you another one. Do you like it?”

Jaehee took the snow globe from Seunghee’s hands. It was a beautiful object. Jaehee turned it upside down and shook it slightly before turning it over again. Watching the flurry of snow flakes inside it made her feel like a little girl again, captivated by the gift she had been given. Oh. Why were her eyes stinging?

“Jaehee? Are you happy crying or sad crying?” Seunghee asked. “Was this a bad idea? I just thought –”

Jaehee made a sound that could have been either a laugh or a sob, but she was quite sure it was a laugh. “I love it, Seunghee, thank you.”

Seunghee sighed with relief. “Oh, good. I know it can’t replace the old one, but –”

“It doesn’t need to replace the old one,” Jaehee said. “It’s a beautiful gift on its own.”

Jaehee stepped forward to kiss Seunghee, holding the snow globe between them. Seunghee was right that the old snow globe from her parents couldn’t be replaced, but that didn’t matter. Part of her would always miss it, of course, but it could stay in her memories. Her present with Seunghee was what mattered now, and it was a lovely present.


End file.
